Music magazine research

• Here are magazine covers by NME (New Musical Express), NME is a popular music publication in the UK and has been published weekly since March 1952, NME started as a music paper but gradually moved towards a magazine format in the 1980's. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart in the 14 November, 1952 edition. In the 1970s it became the best-selling British music paper. Today NME.COM has 5 million users per month. In 2002 NME started publishing  series of themed magazines reprinting vintage articles, interviews and reviews from the NME archives. The NME special editions were called 'NME Originals', with some featuring articles from other music titles owned by IPC; who produces NME. Typical content of a NME magazine would be, music articles; articles on artists, interviews, reviews, offers, information on tours and gigs, photos, posters. The target audience for NME magazine are the younger generation; which is  65% male, 50% between the ages of 16-24, 23% within the ages of 25-34 and 79% ABC1. It is people who are interested in alternative and rock music. Sales of NME magazine has fallen 14.3% to 29,020 in the first half of 2011, showing that it is not as popular as it was in previous years and they are loosing money, NME have various types of media like the internet, radio etc, this means many people are choosing to not read the magazine and instead get the news using their other options, NME.com has over 5 million users per month, compared to nearly 30,000 for the magazine, it is a big difference and a massive fall for the magazine.

 This shows the different types of media NME produce.

Here is an interview with Florence and the Machine from her NME cover shoot.

This is Florence and The Machine at Glastonbury 2010 performing Dog Days Are Over.

Here are some magazine covers by Kerrang!, which is a UK based music magazine devoted to rock musicpublished by Bauer Media group. It was first published on June 6th 1981, as a one-off suplement in the Sounds newspaper, Kerrang! is named are the onomatopoeic word that comes from the sound made when playing a power chord on an electric guitar. Kerrang! was initially devoted to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and the rise of hard rock acts. In the early 2000s it became the best-selling British  music newspaper. Since 1993. the magazine have been holding an annual awards cermony called Kerrang! Awards to mark the most successful music bands in the interests of their readers. The event is always presented by major music celebrities, with many others who are outside the industry attending the event.The target audience is 16-25 year olds and specific towards rock music and heavy metal fans. However in recent years, the age of the audience has dropped and it is more 14-17 year olds who tend to buy and read it due to its featured bands being more poppy. (Elliot Minor, We Are The Ocean, 30 Seconds To Mars etc). Kerrang!'s circulation figures rose 4.5% to 44,013, this is due to popularity and being globally known as the worlds best selling music magazine.

Here is a Kerrang! podcast with 30 Seconds to Mars

Here is 30 Seconds to Mars performing Closer to the Edge at Reading Festival 2011.

Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the UK. Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs, which at the time were a new technology. Q was first published in October 1986, setting itself apart from much of the other music press with monthly production and higher standards of photography and printing.  In the early years, the magazine was sub-titled "The modern guide to music and more". Originally it was to be called Cue; in the sense of cueing a record ready to play, but the name was changed so that it wouldn't be mistaken for a snooker magazine. Another reason, cited in Q's 200th edition, is that a single-letter title would be more prominent on newsstands. Q magazines typical content is an extensive reviews section; which features new releases, reissues, music compilations, film and live concert reviews. Q also includes a list of 8 albums which they feel is the best new releases over the last 3 months. Q's current editor is Paul Rees who is the former editor of the UK edition of Kerrang!. Q is produced by Bauer Consumer Media. The target audience for Q magazine are the older generation such as people in their 30's and 40's who are looking for a different mode of address, more sophisticated and just want to know more about the music instead of gossip. Although the founders state that they want to appeal to all the older generation, it seems that Q magazine doesn't appeal to many woman of that age. Q's circulation figures fell by 6.9% this year, this could be because of the range of media Q uses to attract their audience, such as the TV channel and radio.

Here is an interview with Cheryl Cole and Q magazine

Here is Cheryl Cole performing Fight For This Live live at The X factor in 2009.